Unending: Children Out of Time
by djenie
Summary: "Growing up on a space ship might have been an Earth child's dream, but for us it was just Standard Operating Procedure! We woke up looking at the stars, and went to sleep with the same view."


**This story is an alternate outcome for the series finale, Unending, and a spoiler for that episode.**

**Oneshot.**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx**

UNENDING: CHILDREN OUT OF TIME

My name is Hank Mitchell; I was named for my gramps, the General. My twin, Sean, is named for our other grandfather, the one we never met.

There were four of us kids on the ship: Sean and me, of course; our Dad is Cameron, and our Mom is Caroline: Kayla Jackson, Daniel and Vala's daughter: and Megan Carter, whose parents are Teal'c and Sam. I'm the oldest—10 whole minutes older than Sean! Kayla is eight months younger. And Meggie was born six months after Kayla. Growing up on a space ship might have been an Earth child's dream, but for us it was just Standard Operating Procedure! We woke up looking at the stars, and went to sleep with the same view.

When we were small, the General often took us up onto the bridge, and let us sit in the command chair. Not a lot of the controls up there had power, but he could make the lights on the boards blink, and the beeping and whistling noises come on. He would call down to Sam and she would activate the viewscreen controls, then the General could magnify different parts of space, and identify the stars for us. He was always sure to point out where Earth was located.

My Dad let us climb around in the X305 fighters stored on the hanger deck. He would describe how it felt to fly one, and tell us about the battle in Antarctica when he was a hero, and literally saved Earth from the evil Anubis. Of course, he admitted, SG-1 helped!

Teal'c instructed us in martial arts and self-defense and meditation. He told us about the culture of his homeworld, Chu'lak. When we were older, he told us about the Goa'uld.

Daniel taught us to love reading, and about languages, ancient and modern; also history, and his first love, archeology.

Mom taught us biology, botany and, at least in Kayla's case, medicine. By the time Kayla was ten, she was assisting Mom in the infirmary on a regular basis.

From Sam we learned mathematics, physics, astronomy, computer science, technology. There really wasn't much that Sam didn't know, after all.

Vala was the most fun. She took us into the Holodecks and showed us what Earth, and the other worlds she had visited, looked like. She played games with us, and told stories and helped us put on plays. Practical jokes we learned from Vala, as well as card games, roller skating, paint-ball fighting, and riding a bicycle. She even produced a motorcycle once—but the 'adults' nixed that as being too dangerous (I did see a wistful look in Sam's eyes, though). Sometimes Dad joined in, and the two of them led us on all sorts of hi-jinks which made Mom shake her head in exasperation.

xXXx

I was about seven when I began to understand what the other ship and the beam of light really meant. Until then, it was just part of the scenery, along with the stars. Meggie figured it out about the same time I did, even though she's younger. But after all, she's Sam's daughter, and super smart!

I went to Sam and asked her if I was right. Her face got a kind of sad look. "Yes, Hank. I'm afraid you are."

"So those are bad guys in the other ship?"

"Yes," she said. "They're called the Ori. We were fighting them."

"When was that?"

"It was about eight years before you were born. So it's been nearly sixteen years."

"The light doesn't look like it's moving," I said.

"It's moving very slowly. So slow you can't see it."

"How long 'til it hits the ship?"

"Seventy-seven and a half years."

"Oh." It seemed like forever. I decided I could stop worrying. "That's a real long time."

"That's right," she agreed, with a smile.

"Why'd they shoot at us?"

"Because we won't worship them. They think they're gods."

"Okay." I got up from the table where we had been sitting. "The Goa'uld thought _they_ were gods, too."

Sam nodded. "Yes, they did."

"Okay," I said again. I was ready to go and find the other kids, but there was still something I wanted to tell Sam. "Meggie knows about the beam of light."

"Ah. Thank you for telling me." She didn't seem very surprised. "What about Kayla and Sean?"

"They haven't said anything."

"All right," she said. "Any other questions?"

"Nope. Thanks, Sam"

"Anytime."

I trotted away to some other amusement.

Of course, it was quite a few years before I fully understood it all. About the horrors the Ori inflicted. The battles that had been fought. The time dilation field that had been keeping the ship safe for so long. And why we were stranded inside the field.

xXXx

By the time I was twelve I discovered I had a talent for computers. I was actually the last of us to find what they were good at. Kayla was into medicine at nine. Sean knew he wanted to know about ancient civilizations before he was eleven. Meggie, with her incredible brain, wavered between ancient languages and astrophysics for a while, but when she was ten, she'd decided to do both.

Not that we were allowed to ignore the other subjects. We all learned at least three modern languages (besides English), and two ancient—in Meggie's case, it was a dozen. History was a continuing study. Ditto literature. With the Asgaard databases available, we were exposed to sciences and technologies that humans had never even thought of.

xXXx

Sean and I are identical twins, so alike that if we both look in a mirror even _we_ can't tell us apart! We have Dad's unruly brown hair, and Mom's dark brown eyes, with just a hint of her oriental heritage about them. But other than looks, we're very different.

In some ways I'm like my Dad—restless, physical, outgoing, pushy sometimes. I like to do things with my hands, fix things, build things. To me, computer science includes actually making the computer—soldering the connections, attaching the wires, honing the crystals. I'm meticulous when I'm working, and I get that from Mom.

Sean is quieter, thoughtful, considers things before he acts, keeps himself under control. It's hard to tell what he's thinking. Like my Mom, he's very smart. And he thinks big, like Dad, and hates getting bogged down by details. But from the details, he often reaches amazing conclusions; like looking at one piece of a puzzle, and being able to see the entire picture.

Despite the fact that she's the 'spitting image' of her mother, Kayla is much more Daniel's daughter than Vala's. Serious, focused, studious, shy, kind and generous. Very cool and competent under pressure. I don't know where she got those last traits. Neither Daniel nor Vala could make any great claim to those. However, they're perfect traits for an aspiring doctor.

Meggie's a tiny little thing, which is surprising seeing as how both her parents are tall, and—definitely in Teal'c's case—strong people. Her hair is dark and curly, and her skin a dusky brown—which makes her big blue eyes quite a shock. She's also the most brilliant person I have ever known. Even more than her mother—and Sam's phenomenal. Meggie's not only brilliant, she's relentless. In her mind, there is no such thing as a problem that can't be solved. When she applies that amazing intellect, the toughest puzzles fall like ninepins.

The four of us grew up together; brilliant Meggie, dedicated Kayla, insightful Sean, and me, the loud and pushy one.

xXXx

We paired off in our late teens; Sean and Kayla, Meggie and me. The adults noticed, of course. They may have been a little concerned, but what else could they have expected? Eighteen months later, when Kayla and Sean talked about moving into the same quarters, neither Mom nor Vala batted an eye; Daniel and Dad weren't quite as calm about it, but they didn't say much.

Meggie wasn't interested in that yet. She had her teeth into something she'd found in the Asgaard datebase, and didn't want to be distracted. I didn't push. I had projects I was working on, too, and we were together most of our downtime, anyway. Everything went along as usual for another six months or so. Then one day she came into the computer lab where I was working with a grin on her face.

"I figured it out," she announced.

"Figured what out?" I asked, not really paying attention. I'd been working all week on upgrades for the Holodeck, and thought I had found a way to make the programs appear to expand, so it would feel as if you were moving long distances within a limited space.

"I found a way to reverse time, back to before the dilation field was initiated!"

"That's nice."

"Henry! Are you listening to me? I think I know how to save the ship!"

Using my real name got my attention, and her words finally registered. I turned to stare at her; her eyes were shining. I sorted through what she'd said and came up with the crucial phrase. "Reverse time?"

"Yes! To go back before Mom turned on the time bubble! That way the whole problem can be avoided!"

I tried to absorb what that meant. "Have you talked to Sam about this, Meggie?"

"Not yet. I wanted to tell you first."

"Okay." I pulled another chair over, and took her hand and made her sit. "Tell me all about it."

So she did. About the advanced temporal research she'd found in the Asgaard files, and how, using that, she'd come up with a design for a devise which would allow limited manipulation of the timeline; maybe as much as five minutes' reversal. That was about as much as I understood of the involved explanation that she gave. That kind of science was beyond me. As she talked, I could see a tiny frown start between her eyebrows. Finally she fell silent.

"Five minutes before the time bubble," I said.

"Yes," she said, and now she became serious.

"We'd better go talk to Sam," I suggested.

"Not yet." She looked into my eyes. "Wouldn't it be worth it?"

"Would it? If the time bubble was never created, we…"

"I know. Of course I know. We wouldn't exist. But they would be back to their real lives!"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"They'll never go for it," Sean said an hour later.

We had made sandwiches and brought them to my room to talk.

"But it makes sense," Meggie insisted. She always looked at things from a logical, objective perspective, disregarding personal considerations. "There's no reason why they wouldn't want their lives back."

"They're our parents, Meg," Kayla said. "They wouldn't do anything to hurt us."

"They wouldn't be hurting us. We would never have existed."

"That's not how they'll see it." Kayla was always patient with Meggie. "They'll think of themselves as murderers."

"They won't even remember us," Meggie pointed out.

"Okay, wait a minute," I said. "You're talking about us not being alive. I, for one, kind of like being alive."

"I have to agree with Hank on that," Sean put in.

I could see Meggie trying to readjust her thinking; going from the abstract problem to the reality. Her eyebrows drew together and her nose wrinkled. It was almost funny to watch.

"All right, let's back up a minute," Kayla said. "Meg, tell us again how this would work. I don't mean the technical part. Just, what would happen."

"Well, the device I designed would reverse time by about five minutes. Five minutes before Mom initiated the dilation field. First, though, we'd have to cancel the field."

"And then the Ori beam will hit the ship, and destroy everything, including your time reversal generator," Sean pointed out.

"Right," Meggie agreed. "But I'd program the device to initiate the reversal less than a nanosecond after the field went down, so the explosion wouldn't happen."

"Okay. So now they're back five minutes before the Ori fire on them. How does that help them?" Kayla asked.

"They could avoid the Ori ship," Meggie said.

"How would they know to do that?" Kayla wanted to know. "What's to keep them from repeating themselves, and getting stuck here again?"

Meggie thought about that for a minute. "I see what you mean. There would have to be a way to send a message back."

"What are you kids talking about?" A new voice demanded.

We all jumped and turned toward the voice. Vala stood in the door, which we had carelessly left ajar. We looked at one another.

"Well?" Vala said.

"Okay, Mom." Kayla was the one who finally spoke up. "Here's what it is. Meg thinks she's found a way to reverse time. To send us—you, that is—back about five minutes before Sam turned on the time dilation field."

"What?" Vala stared at us, zeroing in on Meggie after a moment.

Meggie stuttered a little as she explained, ending with, "But I need to figure out a way to send a message back and tell you to change things, so everything won't just repeat itself."

Vala was wearing an incredulous look. "Have you told your mother about this?"

"No. I…"

"Come on," Vala ordered. "All of you."

Obediently, we followed her to the lounge area, where she assembled everyone else using the all-call. Gramps was the last one to arrive; he'd slowed down some, now that he was in his eighties, but thanks to Mom's good doctoring, he was still healthy.

"What's up?" Dad wanted to know, eyeing us suspiciously. "The kids been up to mischief?'

"Well, I don't know what to call it. You all have to hear this," Vala said. "Megan."

So Meggie explained once more. I could see she was talking mostly to Sam, who was the only person there who understood the science. She told about finding the temporal research in the Asgaard database, and how she'd worked out the design for the time reversal device. "I thought I could send you guys back," she finished. "And everything would be the way it was. You would have your lives back. But I don't know of a way to keep the same thing from happening all over again."

The room was completely silent for several long moments. Teal'c went over to stand by Meggie, and placed his hand on her shoulder. Vala had stayed beside Kayla during the explanation, holding her hand.

"Would that work?" It was Dad who finally spoke. He looked at Sam. "For all of us?" His gesture made it clear he meant us, too.

"No," Sam said quietly.

"Well, then," Dad said. "That's no good." He looked from me to Sean.

"No. Absolutely not," Daniel agreed.

I could see Meggie take a breath, as if to argue, but Teal'c's hand tightened on her shoulder, and she stayed quiet.

Mom got up and went over and hugged first Meggie then Kayla, and then came and sat between Sean and me on the couch.

All of our parents looked shocked, as if they'd almost lost us in reality. They were looking at us with unreadable expressions.

The four of us exchanged careful glances. "I said they'd never go along with it," Sean said softly.

"You bet we wouldn't!"

"Like hell we would!"

Dad's and Gramps' exclamations overlapped.

Meggie took a step forward, and this time Teal'c's touch did not stop her. "But don't you see," she insisted. "You'd never know! Things would be back the way they were, and you'd have no memory of any of this—us, the ship, the dilation field. If only I can figure out how to send a message back so things don't repeat themselves!" The level of frustration in her tone was almost comical.

And in fact, Vala started to laugh, a shrill sound that suddenly turned to sobs as she wrapped her arms tightly around Kayla. Daniel jumped up and embraced them both.

Meggie looked stricken. "Oh, I'm sorry! Vala, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to upset you."

Mom reached for Sean's and my hands, and Sam started to her feet, to move over and put an arm around Meggie.

Vala had recovered as quickly as she had broken down, however, and gave Meggie an incredulous smile. "It's okay, Darling! It's fine. You are just an amazing child."

Then suddenly everyone was talking at once, and the room was filled with the kind of frantic euphoria that people feel when a disaster has been narrowly averted.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

For the next few days Meggie had very little to say, and kept pretty much to herself. I think that whole scene had scared her. I know it had that effect on me. In fact, everyone was quieter than usual, and careful around one another.

A few nights after it happened, I was startled awake in the wee hours as Meggie crawled into my bed and curled herself against me.

"Hey," I said, putting my arms around her. "What's up?"

"Maybe it's time," she murmured, hugging me.

"You sure?" I wanted to know, as I stroked her back. I felt her nod against my shoulder.

But in the end, all we did was kiss and cuddle for a while—which we'd done lots of times—and then fall asleep tangled up together. And the next morning she got up and went about her day as if nothing had happened—which it hadn't.

I noticed that Meggie and Sam were spending a lot of time with their heads together over the computer—and I wasn't the only one. Sean and Kayla picked up on it right away, and I saw the others swapping questioning glances now and then. After a while, though, we all got used to it and no one paid any more attention. So about a year later, when the announcement came, we were taken pretty much by surprise.

"We did it," Sam said, one night at dinner.

"What did you do?" Daniel asked, glancing at her.

Meggie was grinning like the Cheshire cat. "We figured out how to send a message back in the time reversal!" she said excitedly.

Heads came up at that. Gramps dropped his fork. "What!" Dad and Vala demanded in unison.

"And how to send the kids back with it," Sam added hastily.

Dinner was forgotten as they had our full attention.

It involved a protective force field of some sort—don't ask me to explain the science! The force field would shield us and Sam would cancel the dilation field and allow the beam to hit the ship; the power from the beam would operate the reversal devise and strengthen the force field; time would be reversed by three to four and a half minutes, and we would find ourselves back on the ship before the battle reached its crisis.

"A long time ago I devised a program to quickly disconnect the Asgaard core from the ship's main computer so the Ori can't track us," Sam explained. "I've loaded that onto a crystal which you can take back with you. Once that's done, the ship will have time to escape into hyperspace before the fatal shots are fired."

"But, they won't know who we are," I objected. "How will we convince them—you—to use the program? No one will know us."

"Teal'c is going with us!" Meggie said grinning.

"It has been nearly thirty years, but because Jaffa are very long lived, I have aged much less than the rest of your parents," Teal'c explained. "And I will be there to vouch for the four of you."

Sean, Kayla and I exchanged glances. I looked at my Mom. "You won't know who we are," I said.

She leaned forward with a smile. "I'll know. Of course, I'll know."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

So here we are, waiting for Sam to do the final calculations, and initiate the force field. The four of us are standing close around Teal'c, tense, expectant, excited. He has hands on our shoulders to calm us. Sam has placed us in an out of the way spot, with the hope that our sudden appearance will not cause too much confusion.

Once the reversal is complete, Teal'c should have time to reach Sam in the control room in time to give her the crystal, even if we only gain as little as two minutes. She will use it because she trusts him.

In a way, this is even more terrifying than the original results of Meggie's reversal would have been. That would have simply meant our non-existence. This will send us into an entirely different life—a universe beyond the hull of the ship that we can only barely conceive of. Earth! A real world to walk on and explore! People to meet; places to visit that we have only seen on the Holodeck!

I reach over and take Meggie's hand. I can hardly wait!

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

I don't have any follow up story for this little piece. That's the whole idea that came to me – sort of all at once.

As much as I liked that episode, there was one thing that's always bothered me about it; why weren't there two Teal'cs in the end? Where did the original one go? Did I miss something? The others were all there when he went back—why not him? If anybody has an explanation, I'd love to hear it!

Hope you enjoyed it and didn't think it was too far-fetched!


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